India will eye a series win and may not want to tinker much with their XI after a close match
Big picture - Raipur's second ODI ever
There is a reason why ODIs are a format after India's heart. Why, at a time when ODIs fight for relevance outside the
World Cup, do Indians still sell out stadiums to watch their team in action? It doesn't demand as much devotion as Tests
do, but still provides enough time and certainty for their heroes to showcase their skill and fitness. And when two of
the greatest of all time, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, find the form they did during the first ODI between against
South Africa, it's all the more reason for a three-match series to be frenzied.
While ODIs are less reliant on luck than T20Is, the first ODI was also an example of how much heavy lifting the side
losing the toss has to do. Despite all the pedigree they have, India came within a couple of connected full tosses of
possibly losing to a side that has been chopping and changing, and has played 37 players in this year alone.
Ranchi was India's experience and skill coming up against the conditions and the incredible hitting depth in the South
Africa line-up. You'd expect the same for the rest of the series if India keep losing tosses - they have now lost 19 in
a row - but the only ODI Raipur has ever hosted was a bit of a dream for seam bowlers, who bowled New Zealand out for
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It happened to be the match immediately after one that mirrored this series' Ranchi ODI. Asked to bat first back then,
India rode on Shubman Gill's double-century to post 349 for 8 - exactly what India got against South Africa in Ranchi -
and had New Zealand reeling at 131 for 6, but the lower order gave India a scare once the dew came in, getting to within
This time, you'd hope Raipur gives us a closer contest than the Ranchi thriller. Not least because if India are on the
dealing end of a one-sided game, the series will then have to feature a dead-rubber in Visakhapatnam.
India: WWLLW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
In the spotlight: Harshit Rana and Nandre Burger
India had only a brief window of movement in Ranchi before the dew turned bowling into a nightmare. But Harshit Rana
took two wickets in that small window to put India ahead. He has now shown that not only can he be effective in hitting
the pitch hard with the old ball, but also with the new ball. Rana's next challenge might be taking the new ball in the
afternoon, when it tends to do little.
Unlucky to not be a regular part of the Test set-up just yet, Nandre Burger took on that challenge in the afternoon in
Ranchi, and came out with credit. He bowled at consistent high pace, and found a way to challenge the batters. If Burger
can find a way to do even better, he will be a theme in the rest of the series.
Team news: Bavuma, Maharaj should be back
India will not want to be fickle with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Washington Sundar at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. Now that they
have started the series with them there, one match against a soft ball shouldn't be enough to push the two players out.
India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ruturaj Gaikwad/Rishabh Pant, 5 KL Rahul (capt,
wk), 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harshit Rana, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Prasidh Krishna
South Africa rested regular captain Temba Bavuma and Keshav Maharaj for the first ODI, but they were both quite active.
Bavuma spoke to the players during drinks breaks, and Maharaj served as a substitute fielder for a while. So they should
come right back in. Maharaj is an easier swap for Prenelan Subrayen, while Bavuma should replace one out of Quinton de
Kock and Ryan Rickelton, both of whom scored ducks in Ranchi.
South Africa (probable): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Quinton de Kock/Ryan Rickelton (wk), 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Matthew
Breetzke, 5 Tony de Zorzi, 6 Dewald Brevis, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Nandre Burger, 11
The India vs New Zealand match from 2023 remains Raipur's only day-night List A game, so there isn't much history to go
by. But the endeavour generally is to not produce a pitch too loaded in favour of the bowlers. So that 108 all out of
nearly three years ago will likely be an aberration more than the trend. The weather promises to be pleasant for
cricket, with temperatures not likely to go higher than 27 degrees celcius or lower than 14.
Rohit Sharma now holds the record for most ODI sixes: 352.
The 681 runs scored in Ranchi was the highest aggregate for an India-South Africa contest.
Sidharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo